The Lötschental is the largest northern side valley of Rhône valley in the Valais in Switzerland. It lies south of the peaks of the Bernese Alps, with the river Lonza flowing through it. The deep and picturesque valley leads east from Goppenstein, and because it is more or less a dead-end, it doesn't attract as many crowds as other areas.

The glacially rounded, 20 km long valley is surrounded by 3000 m high mountains, including the Bietschhorn (3934 m), the Hockenhorn (3293 m), the Wilerhorn (3307 m) and the Petersgrat (3205 m). The Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn area is the most glaciated area in the Swiss Alps, and was declared a Natural World Heritage Site by decision of UNESCO on December 13, 2001, including southern and eastern parts of the Lötschental.

The main town of the Lötschental is Kippel with some 500 inhabitants. The old parish church, dating from the 1800's, holds a beautiful high altar that's worth seeing. Other villages of the valley include Ferden , Wiler and Blatten .

The development of the Lötschental included the building of the Lötschbergbahn (BLS) (1907-1913), a railway of great importance to the area. The most important industry of the Swiss Alps is tourism, and numerous visitors use the valley for hiking and skiing. The economic center of the valley is Wiler, with a ski lift at Wiler-Lauchernalp. In November 2003 the new cable car of the Hockenhorngrat was opened.

Links

• Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn-Gebiet
• Lötschental Tourism
• Gemeinde Kippel